welcome to "newsline." it's thursday, january 10th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. a high-speed ferry carrying hundreds of morning commuters has crashed into a pier in new york city. more than 50 people were injured, two of whom are in critical condition. the ferry was carrying about 330 passengers from new jersey when it hit the dock. it bumped into the pier twice and ripped a hole in the bow. >> everybody went everywhere.

>> the front of the boat hit into the front of the barge ripping the right catamaran or the right side of the wing and then it pulled up and the captain called out, screamed, call 911. get ambulances here. >> manhattan is surrounded by rivers and has several commuter ferry lines. in 2003, 11 people were killed when a ferry serving the borough staten island crashed into a pier. in 2010 some more people were killed involving a staten island ferry. 11 investigators have been sent to this accident to look into what happened. the people who in china who report the news are making it instead. they ordered him to print an

editorial by a state one daily. this recent tug of war has been playing out since last week when journalist at another newspaper said they had been censored. >> reporter: these protesters are angry and they are not backing down. 300 of them gathered for a third day of demonstrations. they are upset because they say communist party officials forced them to change an editorial calling for greater democracy and freedom of speech. the issue of censorship has flared up across china. another newspaper, one affiliated with the communist party, ran an editorial on monday calling for calm. it said, anyone showing an opposition to the government will be considered a loser.

sources say chinese authorities ordered other newspapers to publish the article. many did on tuesday. "the beijing news" did not. they ran a part of the editorial a day later after repeated requests by authorities. an online posting alleged the government threatened to close the newspaper if staff didn't comply. the publisher of "the beijing news" has reportedly said he plans to resign. someone uploaded a photo to the internet that apparently shows employees crying as they listened to his announcement. postings of this nature are often deleted soon after they appear. chinese officials seem to be on even higher alert against the threat of social unrest.

>> authorities in china are trying to show the public they are listening to their concerns on another issue. they disciplined more than 160,000 government and communist party officials in 2012 for corruption and abuse of authority. the situation has resulted in mounting frustration among the public. government and party agencies say the figure was up 12.5% from 2011. among those disciplined were former chief bo xilai and liu zhijun. both were expelled. part of the news conference was broadcast live on tv to underscore efforts to crack down on abuses.

japanese prime minister abe is hoping for improved ties for the country's closest neighbor, south korea. the two countries are locked over disputes over the sea of japan. he told a group of lawmakers that tokyo and seoul should work towards peace and stability in the region. abe met the union members on wednesday. the delegation is headed by the chairperson of south korea's ruling party. >> translator: i believe we can contribute to the development of asia by working for peace and stability of the region and pursing economic development. >> abe called on the lawmakers to work on improving relations between the two countries which had been damaged over the dispute of the islands. south korea claims that japan owns them. and working closely with japan on regional security which recently conducted a missile launch.

it's important that the two countries work together to build trust but japan must face up to the two country's shared history. u.s. led forces may be winding down their operations in afghanistan but pilots are still flying. last year they used thousands of bombs and missiles. spokespersons for the multinational forces say fighter jets and helicopters conducted more than 4,000 air raids and dropped more than 1500 missiles. they continue to identify and target taliban positions more than a decade after the start of the military campaign. the rule of aircraft in the conflict seems to be growing. last year drones fired more than 500 missiles. 200 more than in 2011. commanders are hoping to

transfer power to their afghan counter parts. karzai is visiting washington. he plans to ask the obama administration to provide advanced high-tech weapons. the japanese prime minister is moving from meeting to meeting to do what which he for the economy. he's putting pressure on the bank of japan to do more. >> it's clear he wants prices to rise. they will conduct monetary easing to reflect the prime minister request for a 2% inflation target. this comes as prime minister abe called for more cooperation for his administration and the bank

of japan. >> translator: during the cent allower house election campaign i call eed for the central banko set a 2% inflation target and take bold, monetary easing steps. i want the bank to take this into consideration when it forms monetary policy. >> translator: the government and the central bank have had monetary discussions three times a month. we will continue to exchange with the government. >> they hope to get certain guarantees from the government. these include not having to state when the inflation target will be achieved and the flexibility to change policy if prices rise with no economic recovery. it's not only the bank of japan

that will play a role to get out of inflation, the abe will also have a part. support on cutting edge medicine and school efforts to reduce bullying will be included. more than $2 billion will be allocated to promote advanced technologies be they will air mark $227 million to support research on regenerative medicine. the plan calls for an extra $11 million to double the time counselors work at elementary and junior high schools across the country for early detection of bullying. it's time to get a check on the stock market.

traders are buying exporters such as automakers due to the yen slip. there's a sense of relief in the market as the dow has gained ground after two sessions of decline. the dollar is trading higher against the yen. traders are selling the increased expectations of further monetary easing. let's take a look at other markets open in the asia pacific. the kospi is trading flat. the benchmark index in australia is flat as well, 4,707. we'll see where china markets

take us over the next hour. >> president barack obama is considering someone close to him to help move the levers of the u.s. economy. he's step to nominate jacob lou as his treasury secretary. he will nominate him later in the day to replace timothy geithner. he is well versed in policy. he started working as white house chief of staff a year ago. he will take on his first test as early as next month if lawmakers confirm his nomination. president obama will face off with congressional leaders again. that's the limit of how much the government is allowed to borrow. here is a look at markets.

a pakistani schoolgirl has been awarded a prestigious human rights prize. malala yousafzai criticized islamic extremists for denying girls an education. in october members of the taliban shot her in the head. malala's father accepted the simone de beauvoir's prize for women's freedom on her behalf at an awards ceremony in paris. he directed some of his comments to the taliban. >> they should come to the talks. they should lay down their guns,

and they should come to peace and come to humanity. >> organizers projected a photograph of malala and a quote from her onto a screen. she said all she wants is education and she's afraid of no one. doctors sent malala to britain for treatment. a hospital in birmingham released her last week. she's expected to return in the next several weeks for another operation. politics in pakistan is heading for a game changing moment. former sporting hero is winning fans with his fierce stance against u.s. military policy. >> reporter: the 60-year-old is in pakistan.

across the country, tens and thousands wait to hear him speak. he once became famous on the field of pakistan's most popular sport, cricket. as captain of the national team in 1992, he thrilled the nation when pakistan won their first ever cricket world cup. khan later moved into politics, establishing his own political party, the pakistan movement for justice. his clean-cut image won popularity, especially among the underage groups.

power in pakistan has traditionally swung back and forth between the two big parties but corruption has left the nation's politics in turmoil. voters are increasingly movement for justice is expected to make major gains in the upcoming election. >> they will be wiped out. they will be destroyed in the elections. they will lose so therefore there is a great desire for change. >> reporter: khan's key difference is his policy for the united states. he has favored keeping the good relationship with the u.s. and important incentive.

and governments have by and large turned a blind eye to u.s. drone attacks. but public anger over civilian casualties is growing. anti-u.s. sentiment is on the rise. khan says pakistan has suffered enough during the past decade. it resonates with voters. >> translator: let's withdraw from the meaningless war led by america. what we need is a new policy. >> when you do a bomb attack on a village through artillery or helicopter or drones, it kills innocent people and when you have innocent -- when people lose family members, these people are warriors. they pick up a gun and they become militants.

this war has created more extremism. today there is more extremism than ever in pakistan. >> reporter: khan has lend support to u.n.-led positions. hideki, nhk world, islamabad. south korea has been in news for its dance music. there's also a dark side. south korea has the highest suicide rate. elderly people age 65 or older account for all suicides.

this is because elderly people are suffering from social isolation and poverty. >> reporter: the river flows through central seoul. it used to be the symbol of south korea's economy growth but now it's known for its many suicides. in the past five years over 900 people have tried to kill themselves by jumping into the river. in 2011, 108 people have jumped from this bridge. warning messages have been posted on the guardrails to discourage potential jumpers. the signs were proposed by psychologists and other experts and extend for more than one kilometer.

a telephone help line was installed on the bridge in 2011. the calls go to a social welfare organization in seoul. counselors are on hand 24 hours a day to discourage people from attempting suicide. >> translator: about two people call us to talk about their difficulties every day even during the winter. >> reporter: in march 2012, a loan went into effect to cut the suicide rates. local governments are encouraged to set up suicide prevention centers and provide follow up

care for survivors of suicide. what's also important is support for those people who have become isolated from their families and society. this 73-year-old man lives alone in a public apartment building in seoul. he tried to kill himself seven years ago. at that time he was unable to pay back his debts and declared bankruptcy. he is divorced and has lost contact with his family. >> translator: i thought the world would be better off without me. the man is in poor health and is unable to work. he lives on an income of about $110 per month that he gets from old age and disability benefits. he sometimes receive financial support from the government but he is behind on his rent of $90

a month. he is worried about getting evicted. he is on medication. they send social workers to make house calls on elderly people who live alone. >> translator: good evening. i have haven't eaten for three days. >> translator: you should eat. >> translator: i have no appetite. >> reporter: support of this kind is still inefficient. >> translator: we'd like to help them all but our priority is the most serious cases. it's troubling. we could do more if we had more funding and personnel.

>> reporter: south korea may have the trappings of a developed country but until it figures out how to take care of the less advantaged in society, it will stay have way to go before i considers itself a true success story. nhk world, seoul. time to take a look at the world weather forecast. people in north western areas of japan are dealing with wintry conditions. >> the north western side of japan will continue to see wintry weather. fresh snow of 30 centimeters is possible in some locations. the pacific side will be remaining dry and sunny. high pressure will dominate much of the country on friday and the snow will be tapering off but the winds are very strong today.

it will be sustained about 54 kilometers per hour and that will be picking up the waves as much as four meters high. the siberian cold dominates much of the north half of east asia and that is kick here in north eastern china. some of the cities minus 40 degrees this morning. on the other side of the world here in the tropics the warmth remains. i should say hot. that is enhancing the tropical depression that's formed east. it's going to be aiming the previous locations that the storm hit. these heavy downpours will trigger flooding. please watch out for those risks. manila 31 degrees. it's reflected here in the temperature. seoul minus three. that's well below the average.

this will be on the rise into your weekend. tokyo we're looking at 7 degrees. single digits will be a lot cooler than what we felt yesterday. moving over to north america. it's apparent that we have two systems to talk about here. towards the west this is a very heavy snow maker. the winter storm is quite potent and that could give some heavy snowfall of 90 centimeters in some locations. that's about one meter in the span of 24 hours. the thunderstorms could get severe. we have reports of 110 millimeters and 90 millimeters in and around eastern texas. in the past 24 hours additional of 100 millimeters could be possible in the next 24 hours. sudden bursts of showers are possible and this will be moving into mid-mississippi valley.

this rain could be beneficial from the ongoing drought condition in the mid-mississippi valley. the level is the fourth lowest in history. temperatures are warm. atlanta 18 degrees. oklahoma city 12. here denver, 13 degrees. quite warm there. you're going be seeing a roller coaster ride this week down to about minus 9 for your high. here is your extended forecast.

one more story.

a male panda has opinibeen matc with a new female friend. the 6-year-old panda arrived on wednesday at the zoo. he's on lease. japanese animal handlers are hoping to help them breed through cross over match making between zoos. at his new home he's expected to mate with a 12-year-old who has failed to bear offspring with her 10-year-old mate. >> translator: she's reaching the reproductive age limit. i hope she can breed successfully this year. >> the mating season is from january to march. the zoo plans to introduce the new couple to the public in mid-january at the earliest. that's all for this edition of

"newsline." thanks for joining us.